From 1 July 2018, all stand-alone transfers of land, caveats registered on titles, mortgages and discharge of mortgages have been lodged electronically and there is an upcoming deadline of 1 July 2019 for all NSW conveyancing to be undertaken online..

Electronic conveyancing simply means a conveyancing transaction which is settled electronically by using an electronic platform. Currently there is only one platform known as PEXA (Property Exchange Australia Limited) however this is expected to change with the introduction of a new platform known as Sympli which is hopefully going to enter the space in the near future.

All parties including the seller, the buyer and any financial institutions involved participate online in the transfer of the property so that:

  • Solicitors for both parties are authorised to transact on behalf of the vendor or purchaser;
  • Documents which were previously printed out and signed in person and often posted to both parties are prepared and electronically signed such as the transfer, mortgage, discharge/release of mortgage documents;
  • Errors in typing the above documents are eliminated as all parties must check online to ensure the correct details are entered;
  • the documents to be lodged to transfer the registration from the vendor to the purchaser is checked pre-settlement by the Land Registry Services NSW (LRS);
  • at the agreed settlement date and time, provided all the documents have been agreed and are in order, the balance of the purchase money is paid online then proceeds of settlement are disbursed noting no bank cheque fees are incurred by the purchaser & no person is required to attend in a settlement room and hand over paperwork as previously required;
  • money transferred and disbursed at settlement is received as cleared funds into nominated accounts usually within an hour of settlement, (previously bank cheques required 3 days clearance before a vendor had access to their funds);
  • the Registry documents are lodged electronically so that the transfer into the name of the purchaser is undertaken usually on the same day (previously the transfer of title could take weeks when undertaken with paper documents);
  • an electronic certificate of title issues with the bank or owner of the property shown as the person or institution with Control or Right to Deal with the property as recorded on the title (CoRD).

E-conveyancing will become compulsory mid-2019 and you should only instruct solicitors who have trained and are registered for e-conveyancing so that they can transact on your behalf. Ask the question when looking for a solicitor and only go with a solicitor who is registered for PEXA to allow you to receive the benefits of E-conveyancing.

For all e-conveyancing enquiries please call us on (02) 8812 5459 or simply email your questions to hello@eConveyancingNSW.com.au